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MTC approves over $200,000 for airport improvement project in Hattiesburg
HATTIESBURG, MISS. – The Mississippi Transportation Commission (MTC) at its July 28 meeting approved the full local match of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funded airport improvement project at the Bobby L. Chain Airport in Hattiesburg. Through the Airport Federal Matching Grant Program, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) will provide $216,750 to complete the rehabilitation of the airport’s apron.
In February 2019, President Donald Trump signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019” which included a $500 million supplement for discretionary grants for airports. In November 2019, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) would award the airport infrastructure grants to 108 airports across the United States. The Bobby L. Chain Airport was one of the selected airports to receive grant funds.
Through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), which was signed into law March 2020, non-supplemental airport projects for the FAA Fiscal Year 2020 received full funding. Through this initiative, MDOT was able to redirect funds, allowing the full match to the projects that were not previously fully funded.
“This money is an investment for continued economic development in the Pine Belt and South Mississippi,” said Commissioner Tom King, Southern Transportation District. “The Bobby L. Chain Airport serves an important role in commerce and travel in the area, and MDOT is glad to support this work.”
Through supplement appropriation, the City of Hattiesburg received $1.95 million from the FAA and $216,750 through MDOT’s Airport Federal Matching Grant Program for the airport’s rehabilitation, bringing the total investment in this project to $2.1 million.
